The kids seemed to love it. The Bexley schools superintendent did not.

The animal-rights group People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals - known for its
publicity-grabbing stunts to highlight its campaign against animal cruelty - showed up at a Bexley
elementary school yesterday to protest the treatment of elephants by the Ringling Bros. and Barnum
& Bailey Circus.

Seeing that the dismissal of school was turning into, well, a circus, the principal called in
the Bexley police, who quickly determined that no laws were being broken. It was just a person
dressed in a cartoonish elephant costume - with a bloody bandage on its head - and a woman handing
out comic books to kids leaving Montrose Elementary after the school day.

The kids soon were swarming the elephant, getting hugs, taking photos and picking up the free
comic books depicting a story about how circus elephants are abused and telling them they should
buy tickets only to animal-free circuses.

Why an elementary school?

"I think that if we try to protect (children) from everything, then they're not going to be able
to make educated decisions about what they want to support," said Virginia Fort, a PETA employee
who was handing out the books. "Obviously, they're smart enough to understand this. We're hoping
the children will take the information home to their parents."

Fort and the elephant - Holly Petersen, a 21-year-old PETA intern from New Zealand - travel to
cities ahead of the Ringling Bros. circus, which is to be at Nationwide Arena on May 13-16.

An angry Bexley school Superintendent Michael Johnson told Fort that his students have nothing
to do with the debate over circus elephants' care.

"I would prefer that you take this to someplace where they are abusing animals," Johnson told
Fort. "This is desensitizing children to come up to a stranger."

Standing on the public sidewalk, Fort and the elephant politely declined to leave. Bexley Police
Sgt. Ken Gough said the protest might have caused a stir, but it wasn't illegal.

Ringling Bros. spokeswoman Amy McWethy said by phone, "It's a bit disconcerting that they go to
elementary schools. We want parents to make those decisions and approach their children on any
topic that may be controversial."